Silver Birch Care Home

Silver Birch Care Home is a purpose -built care home, providing personal and nursing care to up to 75 older people, some living with dementia. The service is arranged over three floors. At the time of the inspection there were 20 people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Systems to monitor the quality and safety of the service were not robust and had not independently identified inconsistencies we found with confidentiality, fire safety evacuation records and medicine auditing. We were assured by the swift action taken by the provider to mitigate further risk. However, these improvements need to be fully embedded to support continual development of the home.

Overall, risks to individuals were appropriately assessed and managed and safe management of medicines was in place.

Staff had received safeguarding training and knew how to protect people from potential harm. Safeguarding policies and processes were in place.

We were assured by the Infection prevention and control systems in the home. These were in line with recommended best practice and current legislation to minimise the risk of spread of infection within the home.

Recruitment was managed safely and there were enough staff with the relevant training and qualifications on duty to meet people's needs safely.

People who used the service, relatives and staff provided good feedback about their experience. People said they felt safe and the staff were caring and kind. The provider worked in partnership with people, relatives and other professionals to achieve good outcomes for people.

People's care plans were detailed and person-centred, they promoted choice and guided staff on how to support people safely and encourage their independence. They included information on people's family, history, skills, hobbies and interests.

Staff understood the importance of gaining consent from people. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and care staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Rating at last inspection

The service was registered with us on 1 October 2020 and this is their first comprehensive ratings inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned comprehensive inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

The service was new and had been operational since December 2020. At the time of the inspection, one person was in residence.

We found the following examples of good practice.

The provider had identified a specific area within the service to ensure effective use of cohorting and zoning. This meant that people had en suite bedrooms and facilities in a certain area of the service and were cared for by a dedicated staff team, which reduced the risk for the infection to spread. Staff were appointed to work in designated areas which further reduced the potential for transfer of infections.

There was a designated central entry system into the service. Everyone was temperature tested and staff completed hand disinfection before entry. Anyone being admitted from hospital who were Covid-19 positive or potentially might be, were admitted directly to the designated area.

The provider ensured there were sufficient supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) including face masks and aprons and we saw staff use this appropriately. There were multiple PPE stations located on every floor and the management team confirmed staff were encouraged to change their PPE regularly. Used PPE was disposed of in special foot operated pedal bins situated throughout the service which ensured the potential for transfer of infection was reduced.

The service was thoroughly cleaned and disinfected with approved cleaning products. Cleaning schedules including regular cleaning of touch point areas such as handrails and door handles were in place. This reduced the risk of cross infection.

The management team confirmed that staff employed in the service did not work in any other care settings. This meant the risk of cross infection was reduced. The provider had transferred a registered manager from another of their services to oversee the running of Silver Birch Care Home as a ‘designated scheme.’

Arrangements for regular testing of Covid-19 for people living in the service and staff were in place. This ensured action could be taken swiftly to reduce the risk of exposure if a positive test was returned and in the event if anyone developed symptoms of the virus.

Risk assessments had been completed to protect people living in the service and staff. Where risks had been identified, for example staff who may be at higher risk of contracting Covid-19, measures were in place to mitigate the risk and to support them.

Information on how staff could access wellbeing support from the provider and external resources were visible in the service.

We were assured that this service met good infection prevention and control guidelines as a designated care setting.